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The Ad-Dharmi is a sect in the state of Punjab, in India and is an alternative term for the Ravidasia religion, meaning Primal Spiritual Path. The term Ad-Dharm came into popular usage in the early part of the 20th century, when many followers of Guru Ravidas converted to Sikhism and were severely discriminated against due to their low caste status (even though the Sikh religion is strictly against the caste system). Many of these converts stopped attending Sikh Gurdwaras controlled by Jat Sikhs and built their own shrines upon arrival in the UK, Canada, and Fiji Island. Ad-Dharmis comprise 11.48% of the total of Scheduled Caste communities in Punjab.

Origin

The Ad-Dharm movement was started in the 1920s with the aim of establishing a distinct religious identity. The founders of the Ad-Dharm Movement were Mangu Ram Mugowalia (a founding member of the Ghadar Party), Master Gurbanta Singh (a senior Congress leader), B. L. Gherra, and Pandit Hari Ram (Pandori Bibi), who served as the organization's secretary.

The movement projected Guru Ravidas, the 14th century Bhakti Movement saint, as their spiritual guru and adopted a sacred book called Ad Parkash for their separate ritual traditions. The Ad-Dharmi Dalits unified as a faith in 1925 during British rule in India.

In the 1931 census, over 450,000 individuals registered themselves as members of the new indigenous faith called Ad Dharam (or Original Religion). However, this faith and movement gradually declined after India gained independence due to the leaders' increasing involvement in state politics and the government's reservation policy, which focused only on providing reservations for low-caste individuals from Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist communities.

Religion

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Although the Ad-Dharmi are followers of Guru Ravidas (now Ravidassia religion), and incorporate elements of Sikhism as they regard Shri Guru Granth Sahib as their religious text. But after killing of Ramananda Dass on Vienaa triggered them a lot and they formed separate Amritbani and customs.

Each of their settlement contains a gurdwaras and Ravidas Bhawans, which are both a centre of worship and as well as a focus of the community.

Ad-Dharmi Diaspora

The Ad dharmi Diaspora has flourished on Fiji Island, Canada, and in the United Kingdom since 1905. From 1905, when the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand began a regular service from Calcutta to Fiji, there was a regular flow of Ravidassia people from Punjab to Fiji. The first Shri Guru Ravidass Gurudwara outside India was established in 1939 in Nasinu on Fiji Island, and this Gurdwara was registered under the banner of the Addharm-Punjab Association.

Demographics

Notable people

• Mangu Ram Mugowalia, founding member of Ghadar Movement and Ad Dharm movement in Punjab
• Master Gurbanta Singh - Tallest Dalit leader of Punjab, educator and key person of Ad Dharm movement.
• Seth Kishan Dass - was a leather trader, propagator of the Ad-Dharm movement, and a politician.
• Chaudhary Sadhu Ram - Elected Member of Parliament for five time.

See also

• Chamar
• Ramdasia
• Ravidassia religion
• Guru Ravidas

References

1. "Ad Dharm - SikhiWiki, free Sikh encyclopedia".
2. "Deras and Dalit Consciousness". Mainstream Weekly. 13 June 2009. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
3. "'Ad-Dharm Movement was the Revolt Against the Hinduism' – Saheb Kanshi Ram's Speech at Sikri, Punjab, 12th February 2001 | Velivada". velivada.com. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
4. Judge, Paramjit S. (2002). "Punjabis in England: The Ad-Dharmi Experience". Economic and Political Weekly. 37 (31): 3244–3250. JSTOR 4412439.
5. "Ad Dharm - SikhiWiki, free Sikh encyclopedia".
6. "Punjab Data Highlights: The Scheduled Castes" (PDF).
7. Singh, IP (July 13, 2020). "Give 'Adi-dharmi' as religion in 2021 census: Ravidassia leaders". The Times of India. Retrieved 2022-09-12.
8. "Why Everyone in Punjab loves a Dalit CM". NewsClick. 2021-09-22. Retrieved 2022-09-12.
9. pg 20, Sikh Identity: An Exploration Of Groups Among Sikhs by Opinderjit Kaur Takhar
10. "India's 'untouchables' declare own religion". CNN. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
11. Gill, Manmohan Singh (December 2, 2015). Punjab Society. Concept Publishing Company. ISBN 9788180690389. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
12. "Mention Ravidasia as religion: Dera Sachkhand to followers". Indian Express. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
13. Gupta, Dipankar (December 2, 2015). Like the other Sikh gurudwaras, Ad-Dharmis too keep the Guru Granth Sahib at their Ravidas Gurudwaras- Caste in Question. SAGE Publications. ISBN 9788132103455. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
14. Singh, IP (4 February 2010). "Ravidassia leaders reject new religion". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
15. "The strong differences within the Adi-dharmi/ Ravidassia community have taken another twist with a Phagwara-based century-and-a-half-old Dera of the community moving Punjab and Haryana High Court alleging that Dera Ballan indulged in plagiarism in preparing "Amrit Bani Satguru Guru Ravidass" Granth as it announced founding of a separate religion - Ravidassia- over three years back. - Times of India". The Times of India. 24 April 2013. Retrieved 2020-05-21.
16. Gillion, Kenneth (1973). Fiji's Indian Migrants: A history to the end of indenture in 1920. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. pp. 131–3. ISBN 0-19-550452-6.
17. Singh, Gajraj (1972). The Sikhs of Fiji. Suva, Fiji: South Pacific Social Sciences Association. pp. 42–51.
18. "A-10 Appendix: District wise scheduled caste population (Appendix)". Retrieved 22 April 2024.
19. Teltumbde, Anand (2016-08-19). Dalits: Past, present and future. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-315-52644-7.
20. Kshīrasāgara, Rāmacandra (1994). Dalit Movement in India and Its Leaders, 1857-1956. M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. ISBN 978-81-85880-43-3. Retrieved 15 June 2024.

• Hindu new religious movements
• Hindu denominations
• Ravidassia
• Social groups of Punjab, India
• Punjabi tribes
• Dalit communities